Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz will step back from his role at the end of the year after more than 13 years with the company.
He will remain involved as CTO Emeritus and has accepted a seat on Ripple’s board of directors.
Schwartz, one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, announced his decision in a post on X.
He reflected on his career spanning four decades, from consulting for the U.S. National Security Agency to watching the rise of Bitcoin, before co-developing the XRP Ledger with Arthur Britto, Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen.
He said he intends to spend more time with his family and return to personal projects, including running an independent XRPL node and exploring new use cases for XRP.
Despite leaving his day-to-day responsibilities, Schwartz confirmed he will remain active in the XRP community.
In his message, Schwartz expressed gratitude to Ripple’s leadership and employees, as well as the wider developer and user community.
He voiced confidence in the next generation of leaders, including Ripple’s senior vice president of engineering Dennis Jarosch, to continue advancing the company’s technology.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse paid tribute on X, describing Schwartz as “a true OG in crypto” and commending his long-standing influence on the company and the industry.
He added that he was pleased Schwartz would continue to advise Ripple as a board member.
The smartest (and maybe the funniest) person I know. A true OG in crypto with the conviction and vision to see what others couldn’t – you are a legend. Thank you David for everything you’ve done for the industry, for Ripple and for the XRP Ledger. We are all forever grateful…… https://t.co/tt4uX4JlkV
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) September 30, 2025
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by muravev via Freepik
